I got my newsletter from Stephi (Fire Your Wedding Planner) today and it is a keeper! I thought I would share.

Whoa nellie!

How would you REACT if a wedding planner with 18 years of experience told you:

1) Most brides are a “pain in the ass”…

2) If brides are getting ripped off today, it’s because of the “stupid ones” from the past…

3) High wedding costs are totally justified by hotels because they usually LOSE money on weddings AND have to deal with unforseen events that occur like grooms getting shot and killed by ex-boyfriends of the bride…

No, I’m not kidding…

I actually received a real letter from a wedding planner stating all the above (I’ve included it below for your reading enjoyment).

You’re going to love my response to this one!

It’s here:

http://www.fireyourweddingplanner.com/PredatoryPlanner

Enjoy

- Stephi

Recommended Websites | No Comments »

So - I know a camo wedding isn’t everyone’s cup of tea - but we just released a collection of camo print wedding invitations and in honor of the release, I want to post some other great camo finds as well:) If you happen to be one of those daring brides who wants to add some camo to your wedding - keep your eyes open for more great posts coming in the next few days:)

To start us off - here are some cute camouflage flip flops that combine camouflage bows with a little bit of sparkle. I love it, perfect for dancing the night away.

Camouflage Wedding | No Comments »

Here is another great idea for wedding favors. These custom cookies start as low as $1 each and can be decorated to your specifications! Shells for a beach wedding - leaves for a fall wedding. A winter wedding I attended recently had gingerbread snowflakes with white icing as their wedding favors. Need some more ideas? What about a flag for a July 4th wedding, or a castle or frog prince for a cinderella themed wedding. The cookies shown here are from Ali’s Sweet Treats. They also offer photo cookies - made using a photo your provide! They can package them in cello and ribbon for you as well.

 

 

Wedding Favors | No Comments »

Hey guys - I have decided to start an online radio show! The first show is tonight at 10pm CST. It’s not a long show, only 15 minutes for now - just enough time to share some of my thoughts and inspirations! I hope you guys will come in and listen!

You can find the show, which I called Bridal Bytes - here.

Segments will run Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10pm CST.

Bridal Bytes | No Comments »

Check this out! This gorgeous goldtone hurricane candle holder is fairly tall, just under 12″, perfect for a romantic evening candlelight wedding! They could be used for centerpeices, on a candy buffet, etc. AND - they are in the Target.com Home Clearance Category for only $12.50 (50% off)!!

Decorations, eBargains | No Comments »

Hello,

We are on a ‘tight budget. We are planning to be married at the Justice of the Peace; because we just had a baby (yes backwards!) and cannot afford a big or small wedding right now. I have 2 questions how do you ‘announce’ you’re getting married (at the JOP) without making the guests feel cheated or slighted and any ideas on how to have a reception later also without making the guests feel like they were cheated out of seeing us get married??!

ANSWER

After the wedding, send out annoucement cards. The cards, much like invitations should state:

If you already know when you are planning to have the reception:

_______ & _________

are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter

______________________________

to

_______________________________

son of __________ & _________

The wedding took place on

_______________________________

You are invited to join us in celebrating this union with a reception in the new couples honor to be held:

___________________________________

Details will follow.

If you don’t know when you are planning to have the reception:

_______ & _________

are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter

______________________________

to

_______________________________

son of __________ & _________

The wedding took place on

_______________________________

A reception in honor of this union is being planned. Invitations and details will follow shortly.

 

Now, that takes care of letting people know that you are married and that a reception is being planned. There will be some people who will wish they could have seen you exchange vows. What you can do is make that part of the reception. Not a full ceremony - but a short program during which you exchange vows and rings publicly, either on your own or with a officiant there. There is no legal need to do this, but in almost all cases, those who would have been offended will be happy with that.

If you want, you can also include that on the annoucement:

You are invited to join us in witnessing the exchange of vows and rings, followed by a reception in the new couples honor to be held:

or

A public exchange of vows and a reception in honor of this union is being planned. Invitations and details will follow shortly.

If you are having a pastor or preist there: use Public exchange of vows and blessing of the rings(union), etc.

One last note: the annoucement above was written as sent by the parents.

Here is the layout if you wanted to send it from your baby:

___________________________________

is pleased to announce the marriage of her mother

______________________________

daughter of

___________________ & ______________

to her father

___________________________________

son of

_________________ & _________________

If you want it sent by you:

_________________________________

daughter of

__________________&_____________________

and

______________________________________

son of

________________________ & ____________________

are please to announce their marriage, which took place:

 

Etiquette, Guest List, Invitations | No Comments »

With the growing popularity of Destination Weddings, a new class of wedding gowns has been emerging!

A Destination Wedding Gown is a design that takes into concideration two factors:

1. Location: Most destination weddings are held in Beach like settings, were a traditional wedding gown may seem out of place!

2. Shipping: A Destination Wedding gown is generally designed so it will be easier to pack and bring with to your destination.

For those reasons, destination wedding gowns are usually:

1. Made with light, breezy fabrics like linen, crepe, chiffon, organza, etc.

2. Slimmer fitting then a traditional wedding gown.

3. Semi-formal or informal while still elegant and beautiful.

4. Made with little or not train.

Chrys Cross Bridal is proud to introduce our own Destination Wedding Gown collection! With a stunning selections of gowns available, you will find something for every style and every budget!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bride's Attire, Destination Weddings, Theme Weddings | No Comments »

I found these on Bridalwave this morning, and while I am not a huge fan of the red version - it also comes in black. How interesting! I think it could make for some adorable rainy day wedding or engagement photos. Available at Umbrellastand.com.

Think Outside The Box | No Comments »

What’s the one thing that usually stands between a bride and groom and the wedding of their dreams?

You didn’t even have to think, did you?

Money!

Well, in my never-ending quest to help couples save money and have their dream days, I have been checking out America’s online auction obsession.

I chose eBay for my research, because eBay is the most well-known of the auction sites, and I personally have had excellent experience with eBay sellers.

Here’s what I found out:

Even the bride and/or groom who is not all that daring can find wonderful bargains on many wedding essentials online. It doesn’t hurt, if you have the time, to try your hand at bidding on items. Often, you can get wonderful savings that way. Just make sure you’ve done your research and know what the average price should be, and don’t bid above it. But if you don’t want to bother with that, just check the items that say “Buy it now,” and pay that price. I checked only “buy it now” prices, and found wonderful deals on decorations, silk flowers, and favors. For example, I found 72 white faux pearl flowers perfect for corsages and decorating for $9.99. These flowers started me thinking about how charming a wrist corsage would be with a simple, elegant wedding gown in place of a traditional bouquet. There were also 84 cream or white silk roses at $9.99 for the cream and $13.00 for the white. These would be enough to make bouquets for a bride and all her bridesmaids, and they were beautiful flowers. For the flower girl and table top decoration, one Ebay store offered 1000 red silk rose petals for $13.50.

For the slightly more adventurous bride, there was wonderful bridal jewelry for less than $20, and veils for $9-$20.00.

But the bravest, most daring bride could have the greatest savings of all on one of the biggest expenses for most people. I’m talking about the dress. Yes, you can find wedding dresses on eBay, and not just the ones that have been worn, either. I saw new dresses ranging from a simple, elegant design for $60 to a beautiful white & ivory Renaissance style gown for $110.00. There were also many gowns for $500 and up, but for those, unless you are going to bid and try to win them, I think you should go to a salon and get all the personal fitting and pampering that price deserves. With the less expensive dresses, you may have to have them professionally altered to fit, but at less than $200 you are still getting a bargain. Of course, you have to consider the shipping costs for any of these bargains, but a savvy shopper should still check out eBay or the other online auctions as yet another option to get what you want and not break the bank for your wedding day.

Rhetta Akamats is a wedding planner and ordained officiant in Marietta, GA. She is the owner of Rose and Star Wedding Planning. You can visit Rose and Star’s website at http://www.roseandstar.com for information about the business and more articles and advice for your special day.

Think Outside The Box | 1 Comment »

Every week, I get an email from Target with their sales and bestsellers (I subscribe to tons of those so that I can post about sales and stuff on here). Today, this candle canister in the Best Sellers section caught my eye!

Canister - Ivory (Large) for $14.99

I love it!! I would love to see these lined up along the walk way in the evening, with candles glowing inside. They would work great for unique centerpieces as well, especially for a candle light reception. The smaller version (sells for $9.99) would be perfect to hang candles above an outdoor evening dance floor as well.

Decorations | No Comments »